Sunday, December 23, 2018

The Fed Tightens the Monetary Noose / Interest-Rates / US Interest Rates

By: Steve_H_Hanke

The Fed defied President Trump’s irreverent Tweets. Indeed, the Fed did what it signaled it was going to do long before Trump pushed the “Tweet” button. Yes, the Fed—with all 10 members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voting “yes”—increased the federal funds interest rate by 25 basis points to the 2.25-2.50% range. And, as night follows day, the U.S. equity markets, currency markets, and precious metals markets took a hit.

Sunday, December 23, 2018

President Trump's Trade Rubbish / Politics / Protectionism

By: Steve_H_Hanke

The U.S. trade war rages on. With each passing day, there is news about a flare up, primarily on the front where the United States and China are confronting each other. While these flare ups rattle the markets, they don’t seem to rattle President Xi or President Trump. Indeed, neither Xi nor Trump seem inclined to give ground. For his part, Trump has recently tasked Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. Trade Representative, to lead the U.S. in trade negotiations with China. And, Lightizer, having a long ultra-protectionist record, has a reputation for taking no prisoners in trade battles.

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Can The Markets Get Any Worse? / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2018

By: Anthony_Cherniawski

Supported by its Cycle Top at 21.96, VIX rallied above its Head & Shoulders neckline at 30.00 on Friday, closing above it.  It is entirely possible that it could meet its target in the next week.

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Worst December for Stock Market Since the Great Depression. What’s Next? / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2018

By: Troy_Bombardia

This is officially the third worst December for the stock market since 1900. The only other 2 times the S&P fell more than -12% in December were 1930 and 1931

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Meadowhall Sheffield Shopping Mall Christmas Lights 2018 / Local / Sheffield

By: Anika_Walayat

It's Christmas at Meadowhall! One of Britain's largest shopping centres. So off we went to enjoy the mega light displays spread throughout Sheffield's indoor shopping centre.

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Stock Market Nearing Low as Gold Tests Resistance / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2018

By: Jordan_Roy_Byrne

As we’ve been saying, the stock market will have great influence on Gold. It has been easy to see in recent months.

The S&P 500 has cracked, losing both its 200-day and 400-day moving averages. Gold and gold stocks have benefitted and gained in recent months even with a stable to rising US Dollar.

The past 65 years of history shows us that in almost any context (but not all) the time between the Fed’s last rate hike and first rate cut is exactly when you want to buy gold stocks.

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Markets Reject the Fed? / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2018

By: The_Gold_Report

On Wednesday, the Fed raised the Fed Funds rate by a quarter point as expected. The FOMC statement was suitably "dovish" by reducing the consensus forward guidance on future rate hikes from three to two. The Fed also signalled that its Quantitative Tightening program would continue on "autopilot" as planned. The response was not what the Fed expected. Stocks fell hard and bonds soared.

Financial markets are about to revisit some important questions.

First, does QE actually work? Does it boost the real economy or does it simply drive up valuations by encouraging speculation? We think the weakest economic recovery in two generations provides the answer.

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Forget the Noise, Follow the US Dollar / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2018

By: The_Gold_Report

Sector expert Michael Ballanger examines the effects of the Federal Reserve Bank interest rate increase and plans for 2019.

"Gold is the money of kings. Silver is the money of gentlemen. Barter is the money of peasants. And debt is the money of slaves."

Here are a couple of facts one needs to remember when attempting to decipher yesterday's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announcement and press conference by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell:

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Fed Gooses Gold, Miners / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2018

By: Zeal_LLC

The dovish Federal Reserve lit a fire under gold and its miners’ stocks this week.  As universally expected the FOMC hiked rates for the 9th time in this cycle.  But it also lowered its 2019 rate-hike outlook bowing to the stock-market selloff.  Traders dumped gold initially thinking that wasn’t dovish enough.  But market reactions to the FOMC form over a couple days, and gold surged overnight.  Its post-Fed rally has great potential.

Gold-futures speculators dominate gold’s short-term trading action.  They punch way above their weight in capital terms thanks to the extreme leverage inherent in gold futures.  This week, the minimum margin for trading each 100-ounce contract controlling $125,000 worth of gold at $1250 was just $3400!  These traders can run crazy maximum leverage as high as 36.8x, compared to the stock markets’ legal limit of 2x.

Friday, December 21, 2018

You Will Probably Live Longer Than You Thought—But Can You Afford To? / Personal_Finance / Pensions & Retirement

By: John_Mauldin

I have long warned that demographic changes have made Social Security unsustainable.

In 1940, the Social Security system had 159.4 workers per beneficiary. Then it went off the rails quickly. By 1945 the ratio was down to 41.9 and a decade later was in single digits.

We usually think this is a result of the Baby Boom generation turning 65, and that’s a big part of it. But rising life expectancy is equally and maybe more important.

Friday, December 21, 2018

If You are Interested in Blockchain and Crypto; Here Are 4 Developing Trends to Watch in 2019 / Currencies / BlockChain

By: Boris_Dzhingarov

Friday, December 21, 2018

FOMC Update - Jerome ‘Dead Eye’ Powell / Interest-Rates / US Federal Reserve Bank

By: Gary_Tanashian

One of the most disturbing scenes in the series Breaking Bad was when Todd shoots and kills a boy on a dirt bike after he witnessed Heisenberg, Jesse and Todd heist 900 gallons of methylamine. Jesse: “Todd, that Opie Dead Eyed piece of shit…”

That is similar to the feeling I got after the Fed hiked the funds rate as expected, but then declined to offer the stock market much relief for its ongoing temper tantrum.

What’s this? The Fed is not doing as the vast majority of market participants expect it to do? The Fed is not taking active measures to boost asset prices?

Friday, December 21, 2018

Will Miners Save Gold? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2018

By: Arkadiusz_Sieron

The price of gold cannot decline and stay below the gold production costs. Myth or fact? We invite you to read our today’s article about the mining costs and find out whether they provide a floor for gold prices.

So if the central bank demand for gold is not able to boost the price, then maybe mines will help? We refer here to the popular narrative that the price of the yellow metal cannot decline below its cost of production. But do gold production costs really set a floor for bullion prices?

Friday, December 21, 2018

Extreme Bearish Stock Market Sentiment. What this Means for Stocks / Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2018

By: Troy_Bombardia

Bearish sentiment in the stock market is at an extreme right now. For example, the Put/Call Ratio is at its highest level ever. During such times, the stock market can go down more in the short term (when panic sets in, it’s hard to know the exact bottom). That’s why it’s always better to focus on risk:reward and remain unemotional.

Friday, December 21, 2018

Top Tips for Flying EasyJet Budget Airlines, Cabin Bags Check Rules... / Personal_Finance / Travel & Holidays

By: HGR

Gatwick airport drone chaos aside, here are our top tips for making your flights with the budget airline EasyJet an easier and less stressful experience, covering baggage allowances, bag drop, hold luggage, and how likely are easyjet to enforce their baggage rules. Whether to book seats in advance or not, and if booked which area of the planes to sit in. What to do to board your plane with your cabin bags as they will likely get rough treatment if thrown into the hold.

Friday, December 21, 2018

UUP Update…The Dollar Channel / Currencies / US Dollar

By: Rambus_Chartology

Yesterday I posted this daily chart for the UUP suggesting that it could very well be building out a new uptrend channel with the current price action trading at the top rail where it has been chopping out the small blue rising wedge. Today we are getting some follow through to the downside.

Friday, December 21, 2018

Trump-Defying Fed Enters Danger Zone for Economy and Markets / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2018

By: MoneyMetals

The Fed blinked – but didn’t flinch away from another rate hike. On Wednesday, Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policymakers rejected President Donald Trump’s call for a pause. They raised their benchmark rate by a quarter point to a range up to 2.5%.

The only concession Fed chairman Jerome Powell offered to Trump and nervous stock market investors was a revised, less hawkish outlook for 2019. Powell and company now indicate they intend to hike just twice next year.

Friday, December 21, 2018

Four Key Things You Need to Know About Student Finance / Personal_Finance / Student Finances

By: Submissions

When trying to get access to student finance, there are a few things that you need to know. Student finance has a habit of being somewhat difficult to try and get access to a loan, which is why it is essential for you to understand just a few key things. We're going to cover them here and now, to help you glean a new comprehension of how the system works.

Thursday, December 20, 2018

What does 2019 have in store for the UK gambling market? / Companies / Gambling

By: Submissions

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Will Gold Rally in January after the Fed Hike? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2018

By: Arkadiusz_Sieron

December as usual. Another Fed hike is behind us. Will we now see a rally in gold in January?

Fed Hiked But It Will Monitor Risks

Yesterday, the FOMC published the monetary policy statement from its latest meeting that took place on December 18th-19th. In line with the expectations, the US central bank raised the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to the target range of 2.25 to 2.50 percent (it was the ninth lift since 2015):